I made the mistake of trying to cut them way, way to early so they are going to rest for a few days. I consistently make harder soaps that can be cut the next morning so I wasn’t even thinking about how soft this was going to be until the knife was already in the soap. The rest got almost a week of sitting before I cut them. I used a brand new mold with better insulation and got a bit of overheating in some of these bars, luckily these are just for family.

For shampoo bars most people forgo the use of fragrance oils and colorants. I decided to do the same. The addition of Rosemary, Tea Tree and Peppermint essential oils are more beneficial to hair than a fragrance oil could ever be.

I made this recipe with an even 9.75 oz amount of olive, palm and coconut oils. Then 2.5 oz rice bran oil, 1.25 oz cocoa butter and 2 oz castor oil. For colorant I used alkanet root infused sunflower oil and spirulina which I did not measure. For texture I added finely hand ground lavender flowers. I wasn’t really planning on adding colorant at all when I started this project so I had a thicker trace than I wanted and the design was not thought out well. Applying plastic over the top before I insulated them and a bit of soda ash make them not very good looking at this point. I certainly have some cleanup to do on these and in hind site I should have changed up the design on each row for variety.

After 48 hours the alkanet is turning a light bluish purple color, the spirulina provides a slight green tinge and the ground lavender flowers are discoloring and becoming visible dark flecks.

I’ll let them cure for a while before I try any clean up on them. And if they are destined to not look that great in the end they will still have an amazing Rosemary and Lavender scent.

I’ve got a respiratory infection so in the interim of filling a few orders for people I’ve been mostly dead, my love bought me roses and I am using them to the best of my ability, in my condition. I put a few in each of my vases and placed one vase in each room for a few days, I took one with me each day I went to work and randomly gave it to someone. I started doing this after I got stood up for a birthday party and I gave a random stranger a bouquet of wild flowers and it made me feel fabulous seeing this girl’s face light up. Then I slept in a rose petal strewn bed, but I’m sick so it wasn’t as romantic as I hoped, I was like a dying, fever ridden, not quite princess, but it did make me feel better somehow. Then quick dried most of the rest of them for later use before they wilted too much and used the remainder in some foot soaks and baths.

Moroccan Red Clay Foot Soak with Fresh Roses

1 teaspoon Red Moroccan Clay

1 Rose, petals removed and stem discarded

1/4 cup Epsom Salt

1 large pan of comfortably hot water

or for a bath…

3 teaspoons Red Moroccan Clay

2 Roses, petals removed and stem discarded

1 cup Epsom Salt

Quick Drying Rose Petals

Gently remove petals from stem and discard stem. Place a paper towel on a plate and arrange the rose petals on the paper towel so they aren’t overlapping.

Place in microwave and microwave for 1 minute. After a minute the petals will have lost some volume due to moisture loss so they can be better arranged to not overlap at this point if needed. Microwave in 1 minute bursts, checking after each minute. Generally after three minutes the petals are mostly dried and stiff. Remove from microwave, the plate will be very warm. Transfer petals to a drying rack or layer in paper towels and set in a dark dry place with no air drafts for about 2 days. Bag up your rose petals for when they are needed.

I don’t have 1 oz soap molds so I make a 4 oz square bar and then cut it into 1 oz slices.

Lavender Tea Tree Facial Soap

4 oz Shea Melt and Pour Soap Base (divided into 2 parts)

1/8 tsp Kaolin Clay and/or Rose Clay

1/8 tsp Activated Charcoal

8 drops Evening Primrose Extract

6 drops Lavender Essential Oil

4 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil

10 drops Jojoba Oil

Layer 1

In a measuring cup place 2 oz of the Shea Melt & Pour soap base and then add Kaolin Clay or Rose Clays.

Melt in microwave in 10 second bursts and mix well for a minute. Add Lavender Essential Oil, Evening Primrose Extract and Jojoba Oil. Pour into mold and spritz with isopropyl alcohol to remove any bubbles.

If you want your layers of soap to remain completely separate place the mold with Layer 1 in the freezer while you prepare Layer 2.

Layer 2

In the same measuring cup place 2 oz of the Shea Melt & Pour soap base chopped into pieces and Activated Charcoal.

Melt in microwave in 10 second bursts and mix well for a minute. Add Jojoba Oil and Tea Tree Essential Oil and mix well.

Spritz the clay soap with isopropyl alcohol again before pouring the charcoal layer on top. The alcohol is essential to ensuring the layers of soap stick together. Depending on how long Layer 1 cooled when you pour Layer 2 it may sit on top as a separate layer or immediately mix in.

Let your mold cool for an hour or more before removing, if you are impatient you can put it in the freezer but take it out after about 10 minutes or it might sweat glycerin when it comes out of the mold.